connoisseur
an expert judge of taste
Roots
- com-: with, together, complete, or intensified
- gnos / cogn / know: know, recognize, or understand
Other words with the gnos / cogn / know root
- recognize: to know again or identify
A connoisseur is a knowing person: someone whose taste has been trained enough to recognize quality.
The connoisseur noticed the forgery before anyone checked the signature.
Connoisseur comes through French into the know family. Hold the useful image: not a snob by definition, but someone who knows a field well enough to judge taste.